Tag: SLA

Like or tweet: Analysis of the use of Facebook and Twitter in the language classroom

Categories LingüísticaLeave a Comment on Like or tweet: Analysis of the use of Facebook and Twitter in the language classroom

Co-authored article published in TechTrends. [PDF]

Social media has become a daily activity in today’s technological age, and with this development, educators are met with another possible tool to facilitate language learning. This study was conducted to examine the use of social media, in particular Facebook and Twitter, as a pedagogical instrument in beginning level Spanish courses. Two university-level, beginning Spanish courses were analyzed for student preference and academic impact of the incorporation of social media as a course component – one using Facebook while another using Twitter. Equivalent semester-long assignments were implemented into both the Facebook and Twitter classes. Results show that students exhibited an overall positive perception of skill increase and an awareness of Spanish-speaking countries and current events. Results further indicate that students viewed social media as a valuable learning tool for cultural awareness and target language usage. These findings support the use of social media as a pedagogical resource for the twenty-first century language classroom.

doi:10.1007/s11528- 018-0341-2

Acquiring L1-English L2-Spanish code-switching: The role of exposure to language mixing

Categories LingüísticaLeave a Comment on Acquiring L1-English L2-Spanish code-switching: The role of exposure to language mixing

Article published in Languages.

This paper explores the code-switching behavior of second language (L2) bilinguals as a lens into the development of their L2 linguistic systems. Specifically, it investigates the acceptability judgments of L1-English L2-Spanish bilinguals on intra-sentential code-switching, comparing those judgments to a group of Spanish–English bilinguals who acquired both languages as an L1. The particular issues of proficiency and bilingual language behavior are analyzed, testing whether either factor has an effect on L2 code-switching intuitions. The results suggest that both proficiency and bilingual language behavior are relevant. L2 bilinguals with an intermediate/advanced proficiency level of Spanish were more likely to align with 2L1 bilinguals with regard to code-switching judgments, as were L2 bilinguals who reported prior experience with language mixing. L2 bilinguals with lower proficiency in Spanish, as well as those who reported never engaging in code-switching, however, were more likely to diverge from the 2L1 bilinguals in their judgments.

doi:10.3390/languages3030026